There’s something about chocolate in button-form – it just tastes better than in squares! However, finding 70% dark chocolate buttons is nigh-on impossible, and if you do manage to hunt some down in a fancy chocolatier or health food store, your wallet will usually suffer.

This ‘recipe’ for dark chocolate buttons is quick and simple, and, if you buy a supermarket own-brand dark chocolate, won’t break the bank either. Give it a go and revisit a childhood favourite – without the added sugar!

What You Need….

100g Dark Chocolate (70% or higher)

Handful of Cacao Nibs (optional)

What to Do…

1. Heat about 3 inches of water in a pan and bring to the boil.

2. Break up the chocolate and put the pieces into a pirex bowl.

3. Place the bowl of chocolate into the pan of boiling water and reduce the heat to low, bringing the water to a simmer.

4. Stir the chocolate continuously until all the pieces have melted.

5. Remove the bowl from the pan and allow to cool for approx. 15 minutes until the chocolate starts to thicken (N.B: this is important – if the chocolate is too runny when you make your buttons, the buttons will be too thin and flat!).

6. Once the chocolate has cooled to a thicker consistency, take a teaspoon and spoon out the chocolate into ‘buttons’ on a sheet of greaseproof paper, making sure to leave enough space between each button to prevent them blending in to one another. (if your buttons spread out too much, leave the chocolate to cool a little longer).

7. Sprinkle a few cacao nibs (or other choice of topping!) onto each button.

8. Allow the buttons to set for approx. 1-2 hours.

9. Eat and enjoy! (1 or 2 buttons go perfectly with a cup of black coffee!)

The post Recipe of the Week: Giant Dark Chocolate Buttons appeared first on Fitness News.

As a trainer and a movement specialist, I get many athletes coming to me wanting to excel in their sport or to figure out why an injury keeps reoccurring. To successfully do this I need to understand that sport and all the athletic demands of it. I then need to be able to generate an assessment using movements that closely resemble the client’s sport. Next I need to combine this with my research of what these movements should look like in a successful scenario, compare that with what they look like in my athlete, and finally bridge the gap. I also have to be very aware of how much information I divulge to my client as I don’t always want them to know exactly what I am doing until it’s done (like a functional ninja). Basically, I have to make the training feel as natural as possible, make it look like their sport and use my knowledge of movement and ‘drivers’ to get them working and moving the way that I want them to subconsciously. If I take the time to explain exactly what I want from them, then they will consciously do exactly what I ask to keep me happy but this doesn’t necessarily mean that on the field of play this will happen again and again and again. So if I can manipulate their movement without their direct knowledge of what has changed except that their ability to perform the movement is much greater, then I am confident I am on the right track.

Below is a video demonstrating how I assess my clients and get them moving better subconsciously….

Some background info.

I have used a very simple step and reach exercise as my movement assessment. I’ve chosen this movement as it’s applicable to many different sports, easy to instruct and the progressions are very natural. Both videos were shot within 15 minutes of a training session and the results are pretty instantaneous. All exercises were described without demonstration so the clients needed to create their own solution to the puzzle without just copying my movement. The adaptive strategies were developed on the spot based on what I saw in real time. Looking back I would’ve added a few extra little things but hindsight is a wonderful thing. This is another reason I love to use Kinesio-Capture with my clients – If I don’t get it on the spot I can have a mull over it later and in the next session apply a better adaptive strategy.

(An interesting side note – with the first client, we did some squat training after this and they were instantly lifting 10kg heavier than the day before!)

What am I looking for?

In the video I point out some of the more obvious (to me) movements that need to be addressed. I’ve had many people ask me exactly what I am looking for with each assessment and a definitive answer is very difficult to give – there is no one answer as when you move so much is happening at the same time, and every joint is affecting every other joint so there are a lot of ‘chicken and egg’ scenarios happening here. However, with experience and practice, getting your head around the HMAC (The Holistic Movement Analysis Chart developed by John Hardy from Faster Health and Fitness), and then assessing every client in every exercise they ever do you notice that some familiar problems and solutions tend to reoccur.

In this short video and article there is no way I can teach how to assess and solve movement patterns but what I have tried to give is a little insight into what I do and my thought process. If you have any questions about this, on assessing your own clients or even getting assessed yourself don’t hesitate to get in touch and I will do my best to get you back on track.

Scott

The post Conscious and Subconscious Movement Part 2. by Scott Devenney appeared first on Fitness News.

Now, although Arthritic conditions cannot be cured, subtle changes to a person’s diet can help ease the symptoms that sufferers with arthritis will have to endure. Inflammation is the most common ailment associated with Arthritis, particularly people who suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis, and changes to diet – specifically, including more foods with anti-inflammatory properties and reducing ones that provoke inflammation – will help….

Inflammation is caused by the body’s immune system combatting a damaging foreign influence upon the body.  There are many different ideologies on what makes the ‘perfect diet’, but one aspect that is increasingly being put forward is that the ‘cleaner’ (i.e. less processed / less additives etc.), more natural you can make your diet, the better your body will be able to process what you consume. Diets such as the ‘Paleo’ diet, ‘Dukan’ diet and ‘Harvey-Banting’ diet are all based around high-fat, low-carbohydrate principles. This means plenty of fresh meats, fishes, vegetables and fruits with no processed foods, such as any grains (e.g. pasta, rice, bread etc.), packaged and pre-made foods, or foods which have high glycaemic index (GI). These diets are all based around the theory that we evolved as a species to eat this way, due to the nature of how we hunted and foraged and the technology (or lack of it) at the time – in other words, they all stem from a  ‘back to basics’ ideology.

The idea behind these diets assisting with Arthritis is that the body has not evolved to digest man-made processed foods, with the ‘toxins’ (e.g. additives) and high sugar levels associated with them. When we eat these readily available, high-sugared foods the body recognises a very quick increase in blood sugar levels, and releases insulin to remove the excess sugar from the blood. This automatic response also causes the body to produce inflammation in small doses – which to a healthy person wouldn’t be recognisable, but to someone who already has a base level of inflammation through their Arthritis can increase swelling and cause the inflammation to increase to levels where movement around the affected joints becomes painful and inhibited. Assuming that the average person on a traditional ‘western’ high-sugar diet spikes their blood sugar between 3-5 times a day, this means that every few hours the body is being put into an inflammatory state – which doesn’t give the inflamed joints long to shift the excess inflammation. Unsurprisingly, any increase in joint pain will likely lead to a more sedentary lifestyle, and possibly more comfort-eating of sugary, processed foods! This inactivity can then lead to the excess blood sugar produced by the food being stored as fat -  Hello Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure…. You get the picture!

So, eating a ‘cleaner’ (i.e. less processed, low sugar) diet will help reduce the amount of sugar being stored as fat and will help the body lose weight. Furthermore, high levels body fat have been shown to be correlated with higher levels of inflammation in the body, so losing weight will not only reduce the stress placed upon the joints, it should also help reduce the level of inflammation at the joints.

Finally, organic foods are a bit of a buzz term at the moment, but the fact is that if your fresh fruit and vegetables have been organically grown, then they will be free from toxins and chemicals. These unnatural additions can be put under the same category as sugar with regards to how they promote an inflammatory response in the body, and therefore if it all possible, local, organically farmed produce should always be encouraged.

Below is a summary of the kinds of foods that are anti-inflammatory and should be eaten, and those that are pro-inflammatory and should be avoided to help combat arthritis:

What to eat (anti-inflammatory foods):

• Dark coloured fresh fruits, which are high in anti-oxidants, proven to help boost the immune system and also have a low glycaemic index (e.g. Strawberries, Blueberries, Acai berries, Raspberries, Cherries).
• Oily fish, like tuna, mackerel, salmon – all are high in Omega 3’s which have excellent anti-inflammatory properties by decreasing the production of chemicals that spread inflammation. Plus they also inhibit enzymes that trigger it.
• Garlic, Tumeric and Ginger, again all have high anti-inflammatory properties.
• Lean cuts of meat, chicken, turkey, and small amounts of lean red meats.
• Monounsaturated Fats, e.g. from olives and avocados.
• Polyunsaturated Fats, e.g. flaxseeds and nuts, (Macadamia nuts, Almonds, Walnuts and Brazil nuts are all great options).
• Green Teas have certain antioxidant compounds that have been shown to lessen the severity and incidence of arthritis.

What NOT to eat (pro-inflammatory foods):

• Processed grains: e.g. breads, pasta, flour etc.
• High-sugar fruits and drinks – e.g. most fizzy drinks, fruit juice, squash, etc.
• Ready-made foods – e.g. most foods / meals that come in a packet (especially those with more than 5 ingredients and/or ingredients that you can’t pronounce!)
• Dairy foods – e.g. milk, cheese, cream, etc.
• Trans fats/ polyunsaturated fats – vegetable oils (e.g. sunflower oil, low-fat butter, margarines etc.).
• Alcohol – which is not only high in sugar but also stresses the liver which in turn can cause an auto-immune response to produce inflammation.
• Smoking –inhibits the levels of oxygenation of the blood as well as increasing the acidity of the bodies pH levels – both of which reduce the body’s ability to repair itself.

In the build up to my Virgin London Marathon run, I am aiming to raise £2000 for Arthritis Research UK. If you can relate to the article, by whatever means, any donations of any size would be greatly appreciated to help me raise some funds for an amazing charity that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

http://www.justgiving.com/Benjamin-YoungLM2013

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/

The post Running away from Arthritis Part 3: Diet & Arthritis by Ben Young appeared first on Fitness News.

Despite the difficulties of suffering from Arthritis, it’s not all doom and gloom and preparing for a lifetime of sofa-surfing and procrastinating – exercise and diet can have significant positive influences on the body and help reduce the arthritic symptoms!

The benefits of exercise…

• Exercise is essential in maintaining an active healthy way of life. Not only will it help loosen stiff muscles and joints, it also improves the cardiovascular system, a decline of which can lead to chronic metabolic conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
• Exercise helps individuals maintain their weight (which can help reduce the stress put on painful joints) as it is proven to improve insulin sensitivity, a lack of which is a main contributor to Type 2 Diabetes, which then makes weight loss very difficult, especially if you combine an increase in body weight with aching joints – both will be detrimental in keeping you active and healthy, with increased stresses put on your joints as your weight increases.
• Exercise helps strengthen bones and consequently assists in preventing degenerative conditions such as osteoporosis – helping to ‘harden’ the individual against unexpected falls and accidents by making them less like to fall, and less likely to break if they do fall!
• Exercise stimulates the lymphatic systems, which transports fluids around the body through the circulatory system, as the muscles demand an increase in blood supply. Maintaining the function of this system for people with arthritis is paramount as the lymph vessels in the muscle tissues transport plasma, which is partly made up of white blood cells, out of the muscles. It’s this plasma that causes the swelling during inflammation of a joint as the body tries to rebuild itself using the white blood cells to fight the arthritic pathogen. Therefore, a more effective functional lymphatic systems will help improve the body’s own anti-inflammatory response.

How to exercise with arthritis…

With regards to what exercise is best, it’s very much dependant upon the arthritis that is present – as a rule of thumb, low-impact exercise is recommended to reduce the stress the joints feel through the movement. This is particularly relevant to suffers of osteoarthritis where the cartilage at the ends of the bones is affected. Hydrotherapy pools and new weightless treadmills such as the Alter-G (http://www.alterg.com/) can offer excellent ways of training to high cardio intensities whilst keeping impact to a minimum. Vibration training is also an increasingly popular method used in most gyms due to their adaptability and range of exercise options whilst under the influence of rhythmic vibrations, which stimulate the nerves within the muscles and offer a safe way of increasing bone density without warranting heavy impact.

However, you don’t need expensive equipment and fancy machines to maintain a healthy active lifestyle – by mobilising the joints, particularly the ankles, hips and upper back through three planes of motion you can prevent restrictions occurring within the joints. It’s these restrictions that cause muscular imbalances and can stress weaker joints like the lower back and knees into flaring up. The better you can maintain functional mobility, the greater your chances of preventing flare-ups and causing further damage through over-compensations.

By maintaining a greater range of joint mobility, you will also enhance your flexibility and stability – both of which are essential for ensuring you can maintain a healthy posture and meet the demands of life to the best of your ability. Activities such as Yoga and Zumba are excellent, low impact all body workouts that can be performed in any space that’s convenient and if done correctly can improve mobility, flexibility and stability which in turn will enhance the sufferer’s way of life physically, mentally and socially.

Doing as little as 20min of accumulative exercise a day will help maintain a person’s health, although doing between 20-60min 3-5 times a week would help promote even greater improvements in health and fitness. However, any exercise should be performed without increasing the stress on the affected limbs as a flare up would be counter-productive in the long run.

Below is a short all-body mobility video that shows how you can gently mobilise the whole body through three planes of motion without needing any equipment or the introduction of any heavy impact. Doing this twice a day will help you easily meet the guidelines for maintaining health.

In the build up to my Virgin London Marathon run, I am aiming to raise £2000 for Arthritis Research UK. If you can relate to the article, by whatever means, any donations of any size would be greatly appreciated to help me raise some funds for an amazing charity that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

http://www.justgiving.com/Benjamin-YoungLM2013

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/

The post Running away from Arthritis Part 2: Exercise & Arthritis by Ben Young appeared first on Fitness News.

This juice is packed with nutrients, including: Vitamins C & K, Beta-Carotene, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. It also contains some Pectin from the apples which is great for detoxifying!

What you need…

4 Apples (cut into wedges)
1 Lemon (peeled & de-pipped)
2 Limes (peeled & de-pipped)

(serves 2)

What to do…

1. Press alternate chunks of fruit through a juicer.

2. Stir and drink straight away.

Optional: try adding the juice to a blender with some ice cubes for a healthy, thirst-quenching  ‘Slush Puppie’!

The post Recipe of the Week: Citrus and Apple Detox Juice appeared first on Fitness News.

Arthritis refers to the group of diseases that affect joints and leads to pain and disability. It is a chronic and often debilitating disease caused by inflammation of one or more joints, resulting in pain, stiffness, swelling and limited movement. There are about 200 different musculoskeletal arthritic conditions, which fall into five main groups:

1. Inflammatory arthritis: (e.g. Rheumatoid Arthritis) affects 400,000 people in the UK and occurs from the body’s immune system producing inflammation that causes swelling and ligament damage, and on occasions it occurs for no apparent reason.

2. Degenerative or Mechanical Arthritis: (e.g. Osteoarthritis) are conditions where the cartilage at the end of the bones becomes damaged, leading the bone underneath to repair itself, but when the repair overgrows it leads to altering the shapes of the joints and in turn creates movement dysfunctions.  Around 8 million people suffer from this form of arthritis and it is very common with older people and particularly affects joints that are subjected to heavy use like the knees and hips.

3. Soft tissue musculoskeletal pain that surround joints: are referred to as arthritic conditions. They can be either localised, caused by overuse or injury, such as tennis elbow for example, or more widespread pain like fibromyalgia, which 1 in 25 people are diagnosed with.

4. Back pain: is a common complaint, with 4 out of 5 people being affected by it at some point during their lives. Long-term back pain can have complex causes, such as organ problems causing referred pain, but sometimes it can have a specific cause such as spondylosis (osteoarthritis in the spine), a herniated disc or osteoporosis.

5. Connective tissue disease (CTD): This affects all the tissues that support, bind or separate your body tissues and organs. Its effect can be vast, with joints, muscles, lungs, skin and kidneys all being affected, leading to a range of symptoms, not just painful joints. Lupus, scleroderma and dermatomyositis are all examples of CTD.

What is often lost upon most people is that Arthritis isn’t just for the old, battered and bruised – at least 1000 children under 16yrs old develop inflammatory arthritis in the UK each year, and spend a lifetime battling discomfort.

Overall, the cost to the UK from musculoskeletal conditions is £5.7billion annually, with 10 million working days lost in 2006/7 due to musculoskeletal conditions – second only to stress, depression and anxiety. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were related either, with up to 4 in 10 working people with rheumatoid arthritis losing their jobs within 5 years of being diagnosed, 75% of which are for reasons directly related to their condition.

Arthritis is a condition that affects millions of people in the UK alone, with no known cure, and although it isn’t a condition that can be fatal, the consequences of suffering from arthritis can lead to co-morbidities that will significantly reduce the sufferer’s quality of life and prospective life expectancy.

Despite the difficulties of suffering from Arthritis, it’s not all doom and gloom and preparing for a lifetime of sofa-surfing and procrastinating – exercise and diet can have significant positive influences on the body and help reduce the arthritic symptoms! In parts 2 and 3 of this article I’ll talk about the positive impact that changes to exercise and diet can have, and how to use both to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis.

In the build up to my Virgin London Marathon run, I am aiming to raise £2000 for Arthritis Research UK. If you can relate to the article, by whatever means, any donations of any size would be greatly appreciated to help me raise some funds for an amazing charity that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

http://www.justgiving.com/Benjamin-YoungLM2013

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/

The post Running away from Arthritis Part 1: What is Arthritis? by Ben Young appeared first on Fitness News.

Most have jumped on the hate bus regarding the now deposed 7 times Tour de France champion, and it’s easy to understand why. But what happens when you have really idolised someone – is it ok to still admire him now that he has admitted to doping all those years?

Lance and I

Our ‘relationship’ goes back to 1999 – when he came back from beating cancer to win the Tour de France, arguably the most gruelling race in sport….

I’d been waiting for a new champion to come along since my 5 tour wins and a failed 6^th attempt with Miguel “Big Mig” Indurain ended in 1996.

Now with Lance it would seem a new rising star had come to take Le Tour by the scruff of the neck….I mean who wins after overcoming life threatening cancer? It was unheard of!

Over the next 7 tours I watched as Lance demolished other riders, came back after falling off his bike mid-stage to win the most difficult climbs and looked for all intents and purposes to be the new untouchable king surrounded by his US Postal Team guards.

In the future he would come back and race for Astana as an extra for Alberto Contador and as team leader again for RadioShack, but the “magic” was gone – much like Michael Schumacher’s comeback in F1. He had lost his sparkle. Little did I know he hadn’t been juicing.

In my opinion at least, that’s Lance Armstrong in a nutshell.

What I want to say though is that our heroes are not infallible – they’re human, just like the rest of us, but it’s what they bring out in us that matters…

I have all Lance’s books.

I have a Postal Service and RadioShack shirt and shorts.

I have the LIVESTRONG wristband (which is still on my wrist).

And I still have the memories…I remember texting my best friend saying I had heard a rumour Lance was going to be cycling in Paisley. Paisley?? Surely not! But yes, he areally was cycling in Paisley and I was able to ride with the great man and it was one of the best days of my life! I was also on my new bike that I had bought with the money my late grandpa had left me – two extremely powerful emotions linked into that bike forever. That doesn’t die because one man took drugs.

Our heroes can falter, but Lance inspired me with his own tenacity – I remember the days out on my bike emulating him on time trials in the country, up hills, round high speed corners, gasping for air..The power of Lance got me moving -  if he could do it, so could I! I’d push and push and push myself. I would not quit.

This is what champions do – they inspire us to push oursleves and reach our own potential, and re-set the boundaries of what we think is achievable.

Am I wrong?

Yes, the man cheated. He lied and he kept lying. But, he was, and still is, an inspiration to millions of cancer sufferers.

Furthermore, although he has been removed from the history of The Tour and has had his 7 titles revokes,  there are many others who have admitted doing the same who have not recieved the same punishent (e.g. Bjarne Riis in 1996 – link here).

The sad fact is, it was the culture of the sport – he was not the first to admit to doping, and he was not the only one! Don’t believe me? Just check out the doping stats for the Tour de France on wikipedia! (see link here). Basically, he was the big fish that they caught and he will be the one dragged over the coals infornt of the media.

Lance may have has lost his magic for me – he is no longer the shining beacon of inspiration and achievement that he once was – but he is still somebody who has and still will inspire many people.

Those that are quick to put him down should remember that.

The post Lance Armstrong: Memories never die, however they may change. by Scott Morton appeared first on Fitness News.

And how many times have YOU used the ‘lack of time’ excuse for missing a workout?

Well, sometimes ‘lack of time’ isn’t just an excuse, and there really are days when even the most dedicated individual simply can’t find 30-60 minutes to workout (not even counting the changing and showering time). However, not all workouts need to take more than half an hour. In fact, it’s possible to get a great workout in just five minutes!

Now, we’re not saying that 5 minutes a day of exercise is all you’ll ever need, but on those days when you really are pushed for time and just can’t fit your regular workout in (or on any day when you have a spare few minutes or need an extra boost), why not try taking just five minutes to wake up your body and your mind with one of Fitness Newspaper’s ‘Alive in 5′ workouts.

Our first ever Alive in 5 workout is a kettlebell routine from Ben Lincoln:

8 Swings (each side)

8 Snatches (each side)

8 Clean and Press (each side)

8 Windmills (each side)

8 Split Snateches (each side)

16 Renegade Rows (alternating sides)

2 Turkish get ups (each side)

Check out the video below to view all the exercises and see Ben complete the entire 5 minute workout and then try it out yourself – you’ll be surprised how much you can achieve in so little time!

The post Introducing Fitness Newspaper’s ‘Alive in 5′: Workout 1 (Kettlebell Routine) appeared first on Fitness News.

Ingredients

200g dried dates

150g cashews

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp orange juice and grated orange zest

Method

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until they form an even mixture.

2. Roll the mixture into a ball and place between two sheets of baking paper (or cling film).

3. Use a rolling pin to flatten to the thickness you want for your cookies and place in the fridge for about 1-2hours until firm.

4. Take the mixture from the fridge and use a heart-shaped cutter to cut out the cookies.

5. Either eat immediately, or place the cookies back in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them!

The post Recipe of the Week: Paleo Valentine’s Cookies appeared first on Fitness News.

1. What I mean by subconscious movement;
2. How it is so powerful and important when training clients and yourself; and
3. Why it’s so difficult to train and assess your own movement when you are consciously looking for subconscious movement patterns.

When I drew up my mind map for this article it became clear that this is a massive topic and there are many ways of looking at subconscious movement and many applications of it. This article is just a taster to explain my thinking on it and a quick demo of how powerful a good understanding of this principle can be. Where this goes topic goes after will depend on any feedback and interest I receive!

1. What do I mean by the term ‘Subconscious Movement’?

Subconscious movement is essentially moving without thinking too much about it. It is performing a skilled task without fully recognising what you are doing. It comes from learning or figuring out how to perform a task as efficiently as possible and then repeating it until it becomes second nature. It happened to all of us with crawling, walking, running, jumping, climbing etc.: We started off pretty poor but then got better; practiced our technique and now we are at a point that walking seems almost facile (for most of us anyway); there was a stage when it wasn’t but with time we mastered it!

Before I go any further I want to make sure we are all on the same page. Movement happens like this:

Bones move;

Joints (and fascia, skin, proprioceptors and all that other magical stuff) feel this movement;

Muscles react accordingly.

An easy way to demonstrate this – hold your forearm parallel to your body so that your elbow is at 90°. Now, what is happening here is gravity is pulling your hand down, your elbow feels this force and then the bicep reacts accordingly with the right amount of force needed hold the arm still. If we want to raise our arm or muscle reacts with more force pulling the arm up or in whichever direction we want. We don’t have to think to activate the bicep, we just think about the movement and the muscles subconsciously fire with the appropriate force. So even those slow conscious concentric Bicep Curls are really eccentric loads with so much deceleration that the arm is going the other way!

2. Why is ‘Subconscious Movement’ so powerful and important?

The next really important factor is to understand kinetic chains of movement. Any movement in any joint has an effect on every other joint further up and down the chain. To better explain this:

(i) Balance on your right foot.

(ii) Now turn your head to the left and notice how the arch in your foot falls in just a little bit.

So left rotation of the cervical spine (neck) causes the right foot to pronate in a balance exercise!

“So what?” I hear you ask. Well, by using this logic (and being very clever and specific about how and where I get my clients moving) I can create movements and joint feelings anywhere in the body without the client really being aware of what I am doing!

When dealing with pain and injuries this is a pretty powerful tool – for a client with a sprained ankle for example, moving the ankle is sore as the area is still tender, but by keeping the foot still and turning the head we can create some motion in the ankle and begin the rehab process. By keeping the mind focused on the novel task of just looking in different directions we can subconsciously create movement, joint feelings and get the injured tissues reacting – without pain!

3. Why it’s so difficult to train and assess your own movement when you are consciously looking for subconscious movement patterns

When most of us train in the gym we watch our own form in the mirror and this gives us a very artificial sense of what we are doing. By watching ourselves in real time we are much more conscious of every movement we make and this then takes away from the subconscious element of the exercise – we are continually looking for visual clues and when we see them we correct the exercise / attempt to assume the “correct” form. If I recreate a sporting movement in the gym, I want to feel what is happening rather than see it – i.e. the same way I would when actually playing my sport (there are no mirrors out there on the football field or rugby pitch!). I want to know that if the movement goes ‘wrong’ I don’t want to depend on a mirror to help me out, but instead I want to rely on my body to elicit an appropriate reaction from my muscles to perform the task (based on how my bones are moving and joints are feeling). So if I overuse the mirrors and consciously control all my movements and technique, then when I take this into a competitive arena, where I lose this corrective strategy, things may fall apart. As I showed in an earlier article on squat assessment (here), I have very successfully overcome this problem and been able to assess my own squat by using Kinesio-capture on my iPad. When filming I try not to think too much about technique, I just do what needs to be done and when watching the playback I am able to asses my subconscious movement patterns and then design a training program to improve what needs improving.

So how does this fit into the fitness industry and where do we go from here?

From my experience within the fitness industry and the different training courses I have attended throughout my career, this concept isn’t often considered, never mind explained. Instead I have noticed an emphasis on conscious muscle contraction (squeezing your abs during a plank for example) and isolating muscles and training them individually on fixed weight machines. I understand that for body building and physique enhancement this may be very successful, as bodybuilders and fitness models train like this all the time and their results speak for themselves! However, when looking at performance enhancement for sport this doesn’t transfer so well, as individual muscle strength isn’t as important as the sum of all the muscles working together and sequenced in the right way.

So when working with athletes or clients who want to improve at sport I believe we must take a different approach – we must teach our athletes the skills needed to succeed at their sport by solving the various puzzles each sport will present. A golfer will have a very different set of puzzles to solve than a tennis player, so we wouldn’t train them in the same way. We as trainers must give our athletes the capability to subconsciously and consistently deal with whatever comes their way without distracting them from the task at hand.

So to conclude, Part 1 was mainly an introduction to subconscious movement and to understanding how we can change the way we are training clients to improve performance.

In Part 2, using a short video clip I will demonstrate how I use subconscious movement to improve a client’s ability to deal with a simple movement puzzle and how this can be applicable to clients of different sports and fitness levels.

‘Till next time.

Scott

The post Conscious and Subconscious Movement: Part 1 by Scott Devenney appeared first on Fitness News.